Blender is a free, open-source 3D suite spanning modeling, animation, rendering, compositing, and scripting

Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite (software is GPL-licensed; the manual is CC-BY-SA 4.0). Its documented sections span: user interface and editors, scenes & objects, modeling (meshes, curves, metaballs, text, modifiers, geometry nodes), sculpting & painting, grease pencil, animation & rigging, physics (rigid body, cloth, fluid, particles), rendering (EEVEE, Cycles, Workbench), compositing, motion tracking, video editing, add-ons, and Python scripting. For live AV work the real-time side (EEVEE) is the most relevant, since it can be driven interactively. Blender is free to download and use commercially, making it the primary open alternative to paid 3D tools for the academy.

Examples

The manual’s top-level sections include Modeling, Physics, Rendering, Compositing, Animation & Rigging, and Advanced (Python scripting) — each a distinct capability area of one program.

Assessment

List four distinct capability areas of Blender and explain which is most relevant to live-visual performance and why.